Steinway & Sons “Crown Jewel” Collection Grand Piano.

  This 1917 Steinway & Sons model O parlor grand piano is one of the finest musical instruments ever built. It is the largest of Steinway’s “smaller” pianos. This was the golden era of American piano building and Steinway & Sons was the piano that every other was judged by. It is handcrafted and took a full year to build. The Steinway factory held most of the important patents in the industry and the family participated in all of the significant operations. In the world of musical instruments, there are pianos – and then there are Steinway & Sons. The model O features the classic “Steinway sound”; having a strong, singing treble and a powerful bass, rich in high harmonics. The duration of tone (sustain time) is lengthy, which enables legato phrases to be enjoyed. The dynamic range is wide, allowing the pianist to play expressively and emotively. The mid-treble, where most of the melody lines are played “sings” and doesn’t disappear under the background of an accompaniment. It has the power that most pianos aspire to but not the brash “loudness” that often results. This permits the clarity of tone that Steinway & Sons is well-known for – the ability to clearly hear each individual note played in a chord or group of notes. Otherwise, a “muddy” tone results. This instrument is suitable for the more advanced player, professional pianist or anyone with superior or acute hearing. Any music school, teaching studio and institutional setting would benefit from this piano.

A poignant piece of Steinway & Sons history

The soundboard was in excellent condition surprisingly, requiring no repairs or replacing, so all we needed to do was clean and refinish with fresh lacquer. The original soundboard decal was lost to the refinish but we replaced it with the identical design. It shows the State Seals and Medallions of twelve pre-WW1 countries and kingdoms that owned Steinway & Sons pianos in their palaces, castles or official Houses of Government. After the war ended, some of these governments no longer existed. The factory ceased applying these soundboard decals at this point in deference to these historical changes. The piano was built in 1917 and this important serial number (187812) is one of the very last Steinway & Sons grand pianos to sport this unique decal. Due to enforcement of their rights to this proprietary logo these official decals are now no longer available to rebuilders, making this a very unique piano.